Most notably, the infamous $9 cheap seats have gone up in price to $11 per ticket. For the most part, single game ticket prices will remain unchanged from last season.

Some are outraged that the Blue Jays are bumping up ticket prices, but let's face the facts - the recession is pretty much over and the economy is back on its feet again. Inflation is inflation and there's nothing you can do about it - if that two dollars was really going to make or break your decision to catch a game at the Rogers Centre, then you weren't really interested in going in the first place.

Dollar for dollar in the city of Toronto, there is no better value than a baseball game at the Rogers Centre. Compare the new minimum $11 dollar ticket price for a Jays game to $27 for a Leafs game, $43 for a Raptors game, and even $23 for a Toronto FC game.

Even if the prices of the 500 Level tickets shot up to $20, they would still be far and away the cheapest ticket in town. Hell, I've paid much more than $11 dollars to even sit on a beer-soaked concrete slab at the top of a minor league hockey arena.

Programing note: Don't forget that tomorrow night at 8pm EST is the inaugural live chat of 2010. For 60 minutes, feel free to stop by and we will discuss everything surrounding the Blue Jays - including the starting rotation, the outfield dilemma, and maybe even the ticket increase.

11 comments:

I couldn't agree more - and I live a 45-minute drive from YORKDALE, let alone the Rogers Centre.

For pro sports in Toronto, absolutely nothing beats a Jays game. Hell, really for any kind of entertainment - we went on Victoria Day and Canada Day because everything else was either closed or packed.

I'll gladly shell out $40 for a seat that's several times better than I would get for the same money at any other event.

"Compare the new minimum $11 dollar ticket price for a Jays game to $27 for a Leafs game"

That actually shows how the Jays are charging too much - the Leafs play half the games, which means you need to multiply $11 by 2 to compare the tickets. As well, the Jays have more than double (probably close to 5-6x) the amount of minimum-priced tickets available for sale than the Leafs, further devaluing the product they are offering.

Anything to get Rogers happy with the Jays financial situation can't hurt the longterm payroll either. I'm not saying let's give more money to Rogers cuz they're so great. Just saying that if the team becomes more profitable then maybe more gets spent. Hopefully.

The overall expenditure figure for a day out to my ball park is minuscule, compared to the relative costs of daily life in the 21st Century.

I would argue that the Toronto Blue Jays offer the fan a multifaceted and exciting experience not found in any other sports venue.

Just think of Randy Ruiz crushing late inning offerings to the upper deck on a ML minimum salary. Tasty. Alex Gonzalez making spectacular defensive plays, demonstrating his wizardry for less than half of what Marco Scutaro makes. Scrumptious indeed. John Buck for $2MM? Please, I think you get the delicious, sexy point.

I have personally constructed this roster, and my subversive business practices have allowed me to build a great team for relative peanuts. This fact is mainly due to my personal handsomeness and brilliant business strategies, but you can play a part in this franchise's success too.

Trust me, the extra $2 will go to good use, as I will be prepared to open the floodgates on the payroll budget in the coming years, and you will have the distinguished privilege of saying to your kids and grand-kids one day, "I helped finance Tony Viner's baseball glory."

This operation will shock the world, and will do so for a very limited investment, from both the fans' and from my company's perspective. Trust me.

Mike, it's sad to say this - but taking a date to the Rogers Centre to catch a ball game is cheaper than going to the movies. And going to a Jays game on Canada Day or Labour Day is awesome. I'd rather go to the dome then fight all the people at the beach any day.

Ari, you raise a fair point about the number of Leafs home games compared to the Jays number of home games. I don't even want to know the revenue stream that comes in from Leafs tickets, because I'm sure the numbers are mind boggling. Meanwhile, the Blue Jays have trouble selling 10,000 tickets on any given night!

Mattt, that was another thing I forgot to mention - a 2 dollar increase hopefully goes back into the team. If I find out that money goes into renovations for the Blue Jays clubhouse, I'm going to be super pissed.

HTV, your words are comforting as always. I have no problem contributing an extra 2 dollars per ticket so long as it goes to build a winner in the future.

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About the Blue Jay Hunter

The Blue Jay Hunter is a blog about the Toronto Blue Jays, which takes a look at the team under the microscope. Mixed in with just a hint of humour, and a shred of dignity. I also have an affinity for baseball moustaches.